The WELL: inkwell.vue.383: Emma Span, "90% of the Game is Half Mental"

#95: Steve Bjerklie (stevebj) Fri 21 May 10 11:28

Fri, 21 May 2010 11:28:00 PDT

I don't find it odd, really, I find it revealing of our culture's apparently addictive need to mythologize athletes into heroes.

Coming in 2015: "Jamie Moyer: The Last American Hero."

Coming in 2020: "Ryan Howard: The Last American Hero."

Coming in 2025: "Bo Obama: The Last American Hero." [Read entire topic]

#94: Adam Perry (adamice9) Fri 21 May 10 09:42

Fri, 21 May 2010 09:42:00 PDT

By the way, does anyone else find it odd that the new book about Hank Aaron is called "The Last Hero" when a major book about Robert Clemente a few years ago was titled "Baseball's Last Hero"? I wonder if there will be a book on Jackie Robinson called "The Last Last Last Hero of Baseball" [Read entire topic]

#93: Julie Sherman (julieswn) Thu 20 May 10 12:11

Thu, 20 May 2010 12:11:00 PDT

I want to thank Emma, Steve and everyone who contributed to this discussion. It has been a pleasure. Inkwell has now moved on to a new author conversation, but this topic will stay here indefinitely so please continue to post if you wish. [Read entire topic]

#92: Steve Bjerklie (stevebj) Wed 19 May 10 15:51

Wed, 19 May 2010 15:51:00 PDT

It depends on how one defines "hero," of course. Lots of today's MLB players donate substantial amounts of time and money to charity, and quite a few have set up their own foundations to support one cause or another. The former Red Sox Mo Vaughn has become a very respected developer of housing for the indigent and poor in Boston and elsewhere.

Is this heroic? Not by my definition of "hero," but I greatly respect these efforts by the players who make them, most especially the players -- there are quite a few -- who do it quietly and without fanfare.

A recent issue of Sports Illustrated carried a feature story about "the most courageous man in sports," as the subtitle had it. To be honest, I forget his name -- Something Thomas, I think -- but as a top notch rugby player for Wales, he is the only out gay man anywhere professionally playing a major sport. That took guts to become so, and probably not a little heroism too. [Read entire topic]

#91: Gail Williams (gail) Wed 19 May 10 14:02

Wed, 19 May 2010 14:02:00 PDT

Those two trends perhaps make it harder to know who has a heroic spirit, changing things from two directions. [Read entire topic]

#90: Gail Williams (gail) Wed 19 May 10 14:00

Wed, 19 May 2010 14:00:00 PDT

Everybody has some charity they have been made to do... and no doubt there are contract clauses that forbid dangerous humanitarian missions. [Read entire topic]

#89: Adam Perry (adamice9) Wed 19 May 10 13:56

Wed, 19 May 2010 13:56:00 PDT

Hmm...I'm trying to think of a genuine hero, on and off the field, in today's MLB. [Read entire topic]

#88: Emma Span (emmakspan) Tue 18 May 10 23:38

Tue, 18 May 2010 23:38:00 PDT

Thanks everyone, and thanks, Steve, for all the good questions!

Adam, to answer your very good question - although I don't have kids, I imagine the best way to get one of either gender interested in the game is simply to watch a lot with them. I didn't care about baseball the first time my dad had it on the TV... or the second, or the 20th, really. But eventually I came across players and storylines that hooked me - and then visiting the old Yankee Stadium really sealed the deal. (Of course, unless you have a time machine, that last step could be tricky. But maybe a spring training game in a few years would be a good start? Or, lots of minor league teams have not only very affordable tickets, but lots of attractions, activities and mascots geared at kids).

A few weeks ago another baseball writer asked me which baseball players I thought were really heroes - not just in the context of the game (e.g. Bucky Dent, Aaron Boone) but "in real life," actual heroes. Jackie Robinson is the obvious answer, and other trailblazing black players - Satchel Paige, Buck O'Neil, Lary Doby and more. But beyond that I was stumped for a second - Lou Gehrig, maybe? But then I remembered: Clemente, of course.

Thanks again, everyone! I appreciate all the questions and feedback. [Read entire topic]

#87: Steve Bjerklie (stevebj) Tue 18 May 10 17:18

Tue, 18 May 2010 17:18:00 PDT

We've reached the late hours in this particular inkwell.vue interview, but there's no reason why the ballgame can't go into extra innings. Emma, I hope you stick around for a while, as I'm sure there are plenty more questions from the grandstand. No true fan leaves before the last pitch, you know.

Thank you, everyone, for participating in a very enjoyable discussion about the National Pastime -- the way girls and women see it. [Read entire topic]

#86: Adam Perry (adamice9) Mon 17 May 10 11:55

Mon, 17 May 2010 11:55:00 PDT

Steve, I definitely don't think it's possible for Hollywood to "improve on" Clemente's story, but it's a story most of the world - and, I'd say, even most the sports world - isn't familiar with and should be. Imagining the sports superstars of today dying in a plane crash while racing to get supplies to a post-earthquake disaster area is seriously hard to do. As is imagining a superstar staying with the Pirates for an entire career. :-) [Read entire topic]